Mastodon instance Queer.af is shutting down because the country that provides the domain is now ruled by the Taliban.

When registering a country code domain, keep in mind where the domain is being registered. A shift in government or geopolitics can have serious consequences.

  • Blaze@discuss.onlineEnglish
    812·
    1 year ago

    That’s an old story, and if I remember correctly the title was misleading, it was more of a decision of the instance admins to not renew it rather than the Taliban having anything to do with it

    • Sean Tilley@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      324·
      1 year ago

      Yeah, they didn’t want their money going to the Taliban, and it’s a little shaky as to whether the Taliban’s Ministry of IT would take a stricter content enforcement on their ccTLD. For a while, it was only possible to renew domains, not buy new ones.

      Still, I stuck with the title because the Taliban is still the reason.

    • foggy@lemmy.worldEnglish
      71·
      1 year ago

      It’s more like just because you can make a funny domain name out of a specific top level domain like .af Make sure some country doesn’t have dibs on it first.

      Like it wouldn’t be smart to start a business selling che Guevara merch at comra.de.

        • Alto@kbin.social
          8·
          1 year ago

          I think the point is politics in a nation can change at any time, and as such you may lose the domain/no longer feel safe supporting that nation. Just because they wouldn’t now doesn’t mean they wouldn’t in the future. (Especially with how well AfD is polling and how much CDU/CSU seem to be starting to cooperate)

          • yetAnotherUser@feddit.deEnglish
            11·
            1 year ago

            How are non-ccTLDs, like .com any safer? A fascist like Trump could decide to nationalize managing them at any time

        • foggy@lemmy.worldEnglish
          221·
          1 year ago

          1. Che Guevara’s Ideology: Che Guevara is known for his Marxist and revolutionary ideology. He was a key figure in the Cuban Revolution and is often associated with anti-capitalist and socialist movements.

          2. Germany’s Political System: Post-World War II Germany, particularly West Germany and the reunified Germany, has been a capitalist, democratic nation. East Germany (GDR) was a socialist state, but it no longer exists since Germany’s reunification in 1990. Modern Germany is part of the European Union and is considered a strong advocate of democratic values and a free-market economy.

          So, using a German country code top-level domain (like .de) for a website selling Che Guevara merchandise creates an amusing contrast. It’s the juxtaposition of a domain associated with a country known for its capitalist and democratic principles being used to sell merchandise symbolizing a figure who opposed those very principles. This contrast is what makes the joke humorous and pointed, highlighting the importance of being mindful of the historical and political connotations of country code top-level domains.

          There, I had chat GPT explain it for you.

          Edit, also: “comrade”, Germany. Idk, Google it?

          • Timwi@kbin.social
            71·
            1 year ago

            The way you equate capitalism with democracy, and then tacitly imply that Che Guevara must therefore have stood against democracy, is American propaganda.

          • Norgur@kbin.social
            21·
            1 year ago

            That is the most american logic I’ve read all week. Nothing of this makes a sliver of sense to a German. Absolutely none. The whole communism is so evil it has to be banned spiel is absolutely and purely American these days. There is absolutely nothing that qualifies Germany as an example because there is no grounds or will to publicly ban something like this at all. It’s like saying “don’t register a T-Shirt-shop about rivers as me.cong in the US, amirite?” And “comrade” in German would be “Genosse” which is related to the DDR, so…what exactly are you saying?

    • spujb@lemmy.cafeEnglish
      71·
      1 year ago

      the misleading title you are remembering was closer to “queer.af is shutting down, killed by the taliban”

  • Allero@lemmy.todayEnglish
    242·
    1 year ago

    Can we stop for a minute and appreciate the fact that to this day, a queer community uses domain of freaking AFGHANISTAN? :D

    That by itself is based, although yeah, registrar fees issues are real.

  • bdonvr@thelemmy.clubEnglish
    12·
    1 year ago

    Unfortunately in the fediverse changing your domain isn’t really possible. You basically have to start over.

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.worldEnglish
    112·
    1 year ago

    That green pixel tho. I know it’s not the point at all, but I can’t unsee it.

  • neutron@thelemmy.clubEnglish
    9·
    1 year ago

    Domain hacking is fun, but politics isn’t fun. Bit.ly got taken over by the Libyan government agency, FMHY.ml also had to start over after Malian government stopped Freenom from giving out free domains.